Two Baltimore Detectives Convicted Of Racketeering + Robbery
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USA Today- On Monday, two Baltimore police detectives were convicted of racketeering, robbery, and conspiracy in part of an ongoing federal investigation into police corruption.
A federal jury delivered its verdict Monday evening.
Detectives Daniel Hersl and Marcus Taylor faced robbery, extortion and racketeering charges that could land them up to life in prison. They were cleared of possessing a firearm in pursuance of a violent crime.
Their trial has been dominated by the testimony of four ex-detectives who worked alongside the defendants in an elite police unit known as the Gun Trace Task Force.
The disgraced law enforcement officers testified that the unit was actually made up of thugs who stole cash, resold looted narcotics, engaged in rampant overtime fraud and lied under oath to cover their tracks.
U.S. Senate Report: Opioid Makers Paid Millions To Advocacy Groups
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Reuters- Five opioid manufacturers including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP have paid more than $10 million to advocacy groups and doctors tied to them, many of whom amplified industry messages supporting the use of the painkillers, a U.S. Senate report said on Monday.
The report, released by Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, said groups who received the donations aligned themselves with industry goals and may have played a role in an epidemic that in 2016 led to 42,000 opioid overdose deaths.
The report released by McCaskill, the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s ranking Democrat, said the groups issued guidance promoting opioids for chronic pain and lobbied against laws to curb their use.
“These financial relationships were insidious, lacked transparency, and are one of many factors that have resulted in arguably the most deadly drug epidemic in American history,” McCaskill, of Missouri, said in a statement.
White House Wants To Deliver Food To The Poor, Blue Apron-Style
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CNN Money- That’s how Budget Director Mick Mulvaney described the Trump administration’s proposal to replace nearly half of poor Americans’ monthly cash benefits with a box of food. It would affect households that receive at least $90 a month in food stamps, or roughly 38 million people.
“USDA America’s Harvest Box is a bold, innovative approach to providing nutritious food to people who need assistance feeding themselves and their families — and all of it is homegrown by American farmers and producers,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in a statement. “It maintains the same level of food value as SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] participants currently receive, provides states flexibility in administering the program, and is responsible to the taxpayers.”
